000000
by JJ CJ
Summary: GW XOver Duo of GW falls into teh RuroKen world. Kenshin and Company take him in. Horrible summary. Write me a better one and I'll give you a cookie! : Rate for lan and possible future shounen ai. POSSIBLE. if the plot allows.


**-0--0--0--0--0--0-**   
A RuroKen.GundW XOver Fic

A/N: Wooo, This came to me as I was listening to the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack, after having been DDRing for about three hours.(0.5) Both of those things are actually part of my sister's birthday gift. :grins: We spoil her rotten. Anywhoo. This thing was just sort of floating up there :points at head: for about ten seconds before I started typing. Honestly. It's true. Ask him. :points at muse:   
Jow: Screw Off, Jai.   
J: Make me, bastard. :blows a raspberry:   
J2::rolls eyes: Mature.   
Hakkai (from Saiyuki): Since these two will be at that forever, I feel compelled to tell you to just scroll down, and ignore them. 

---- 

Kenshin was meditating. It was not something he got to do very often, what with the chaos that seemed to follow him around. He took a deep breath and with the exhalation let go of all the troubles that had been bothering him lately. With his next breath he was thinking of nothing, as only someone with much training in the martial arts (or Yoga) can. He could hear and feel everything around him, it just didn't affect him. There, to the right, Kaoru-dono giving Yahiko his lessons. Just to the left of them, Sanosuke laughing at their antics, Megumi-dono chatting with the good doctor. Running about the yard, further to the left, Ayame and Suzume, playing tag and wondering with Ken-nii was. All of these things happened and had to do with his life, yet, at the moment, completely passed him by. A very slight smile curled his lips, unconsciously. 

At that exact moment, it occurred to Kaoru to wonder where the redheaded rurouni was. She stopped beating on Yahiko with her practice blade (1), and turned to Sanosuke. 

"Sano, have you seen Kenshin at all today?" 

Sano seemed too surprised by the sudden question, but shook his head negatively. "Sorry 'Jou-chan." 

"That's odd...Usually he's at least willing to play with Ayame-chan and Suzume-chan, even if he doesn't want to bother me and Yahiko..." 

Now that someone had noticed his missing presence, the others all seemed to become conscious to it. Megumi and Yahiko both got pensive looks on their faces, trying to figure out how long it had been since the last time they had seen him. The doctor realized the time, and gathered Ayame and Suzume up. 

"I'll look for him around town, on my way home. Come tell me when you find him, Kaoru-chan?" 

Kaoru nodded, and set about trying to figure out where he could have gone. 

---- 

Duo sat on the roof of another of Quatre's many mansions, watching the clouds. They were in Japan at the moment, and Duo desperately wanted to get out and have a look around. From what the doctors had said, they could lie low for a while, no missions to mess with a nice break. Of course, it'd be just like the Ozzies to do something stupid so that they would have to be called into the battle field. 

Duo shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. Grinning, he stood up, not even slipping on the steep surface of the mansion roof. He took a few steps to the edge and swung himself down into the open window he knew was waiting there. he quickly grabbed a hat on the way through his room, and was soon down the stairs, in (one of) the living room(s), standing before the rest of the gundam pilots, a goofy grin on his face. 

Quatre was the first to speak. "What is it Duo?" he asked, knowing he would probably regret it soon. 

"Well, seeing as we're out in the middle of no where, with no missions in sight, and the Ozzies being quiet for a little bit, I was thinking we could go out...I dunno, sightseeing or something." (This wasn't near as bad as Quatre had been expecting.) 

Heero glared, 'Hn'-ed and went back to his laptop. Trowa and Quatre politely declined, the former because he was in the middle of a good book and didn't know when else he would be able to finish it (or so Duo guessed from the way he held up a book that he had been reading when Duo had made his suggestion), and the latter because he wanted to start on some adjustments Sandrock was in desperate need of (he had been reading a diagnostics print out of the computer systems when Duo had come in). Wife simply shook his head, and continued on his way to the solarium, where he was going to practice katas. 

Duo shrugged. "Alright then, your loss, guys. I'll see ya in a few hours then!" 

"Be careful Duo, don't get into too much trouble." Quatre said as the braided boy slipped into his shoes and wandered out the door, a cheerful "Sure, sure!" thrown over his shoulder in parting. 

... 

Duo wandered around the quaint little village that seemed to have not been touched by technology or the war, or anything, really, since it had first been built, and god only knew how long that was. The brunette looked at everything, having never actually had a chance to simply look at a place while he was on earth. Usually he was running from Ozzies or hiding out somewhere. Today, though, he was just another American tourist, though this town didn't seem to get many of them. After a while, he stopped into a traditional little Japanese Beef-Bowl restaurant(2) for lunch, or whatever you would call it, seeing as it was 1500 hours. (3 o'clock in the afternoon for all you who don't know military times) While he was there he decided to ask if there was anything else worth seeing in the area. 

On his way out he stopped to talk to the hostess(3). 

"Uhm, excuse me, miss, but would you know if there's anything other than this town in the area that a tourist might find interesting?" He asked with a polite smile. The woman returned his smile obligingly. 

"Yes, actually, there's an old Dojo that tourists sometimes find interesting out to the west (4) of the town limits, over the bridge. You just keep following the path and eventually you'll reach it." He bobbed her head, in an abbreviated bow. "Thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoy your stay here!" 

He returned her head bob, before heading out west of the town. 

... 

The path to the Dojo was a nice one; quiet and with little to no real difficult parts, up hill or down hill, and Duo was able to relax his guard, confident that no one would try to attack him out here, where only four other people knew for sure was, and even then, they could only point in the general direction he had wandered off in. 

Duo breathed in the country air, enjoying the change from city smog, recycled air and the climate controlled scent of Quatre's mansions. It was so peaceful out here, he could almost believe there wasn't a war going on. The braided teen let his feet follow the path that so many had followed before him, unconsciously tracing the footsteps of a rurouni from millennia before he was born, and looked about himself at the untamed wildlife. 

Slowly, a building came into sight around a long bend in the road, if it could be called that. It was old, and in serious need of a little TLC (5), but beautiful all the same, and Duo found himself wishing he had thought to bring along a camera. He came to the entrance to the Dojo, where there was a sign proclaiming it to be the Kamiya Dojo of Kamiya Kashin Ryu, as well as a stone marker with something inscribed in it. As far as Duo could make out, the writing having been worn away by countless centuries, the stone marker read: 

_ In this place the Hitokiri Batousai met his end, in Meji X_(Here, Duo couldn't make out what was written, but it was obviously a year)_His final days were spent as a Rurouni, and He will always be remembered by his friends and family as Himura Kenshin._

Duo crossed himself and sent a prayer up for the man's soul, even though he had been dead many centuries already and was probably doing just fine. (6) With that, the teenager walked past the stone marker and under the sign, into the Dojo grounds. It was a large building, fairly spread out. 

Duo walked around the perimeter of the building, wondering what life must have been like for the people living in this place, before time took hold of it. The porch looked a little rickety, but the rest of the building seemed perfectly stable. There was even still water in the well, and it looked like there was a washbasin set out, as though whoever lived there had just finished the washing and was just now putting everything away. Duo smiled at that thought, though he wasn't quite sure why. 

When he had completed his circuit of the house he decided, against better judgement, to head into the rickety old edifice. The Braided boy stepped gingerly on the rotting wood, trying to avoid the more obviously bad spots. Evidently, he missed one, because all of a sudden he fell through the porch, hitting his head on the wood as he collapsed, his ankle twisted. 

... 

He woke up a few hours later, unsure of how much time had passed, where he was, or what had happened to him. All he knew was that something had. He looked around himself. 

_Well, this isn't where I was... All I remember is that old Dojo...what was it...Kamiya Kashin Ryu? Sword that gives life...huh..._ The braided 'God of Death' looked around himself at the forest. (For that was where he had woken up - a forest.) It wasn't anything he remembered, but all forests looked the same to him. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. _What was I doing at a Dojo? I remember being in a town...But why would I want to visit a Dojo? What was I doing in the town for that matter...?_ He sat down on at the floor of a tree, and scrunched his brows in concentration. _ Okay, What was I doing before I went into the town? I...I was watching the clouds, I know that, but where?_ a light went off behind his eyes. _I must have fallen and hit my head or something... after all, that Dojo looked pretty rickety..._ Sighing and resigning himself to having to try to remember things slowly, he got up and headed in a random direction, hoping he would soon come to a road or something. 

He was in luck. 

---- 

Before the others could find his hiding spot, Kenshin had broken his meditation with a sigh, and decided that if he wanted any peace at all, he was going to have to go into town. Not wanting to go anywhere without a valid reason, should anyone find him, he took the list of items that Kaoru needed in town. The red haired rurouni managed to slip out without anyone noticing. 

Kenshin had stopped to get tofu and rice, and was currently trying to juggle the rather large bag and the container of tofu, which had to be kept level, or all the water would slosh out (7). It was, to say the least, a rather difficult task, yet somehow, Kenshin had so far managed. Through the town, over the bridge, along the path a ways, when he had looked up, for some reason or another, at the edge of the woods surrounding the path. Sitting there, on a rock, was a...girl? _No, the chest is too flat, and the face is too angular, to be a girl..._ Kenshin thought to himself. The boy looked up at him after a few moments, and Kenshin realized he had been staring. He made a quick sketch of a bow, hindered by the food he was carrying. 

"Gomen Nasai! (8) This one apologizes for staring, it's just, One does not see people often on this road...that one does not..." He said cocking his head to the side, in a question that could easily be ignored, should the boy want to. 

The boy stood, up, laughing. "Hey don't worry about it. Uhm, you wouldn't happen to know where I am exactly, would you?" He looked slightly embarrassed, as though he felt like he should know, but didn't...Like he had forgotten a friend's name, almost. 

Kenshin nodded and smiled politely. "You're about ten minutes away from the Kamiya Dojo, in that direction, that you are." He pointed down the road in the direction he had been walking. 

A sort of recognition seemed to come into the boy's face. "I think that was where I was headed..." 

"You think?" Kenshin asked before he could stop himself. He quickly shut his mouth. "This one apologizes again, it was none of this one's business." 

"Don't worry about it. I think I must have fallen down or something, and hit my head, because I don't really remember what I was doing..." 

Kenshin nodded. "Well, I'm sure Kaoru-dono wouldn't mind having another person around so long as you do your part..." 

The boy nodded. "Well, If it means I have somewhere to stay...My name's Duo Maxwell, I run, I hide but I never tell a lie. What's yours?" 

Kenshin bobbed his head in the abbreviated bow that was all he could manage at the moment, though he had managed to manoeuvre his load into a more comfortable position. "This one's name is Himura Kenshin, that it is." 

Duo suddenly seemed to realize the load that Kenshin was carrying. "Oh, hey, d'you want me to help you with that?" He offered, stepping forward to take part of the load. 

Kenshin gratefully gave him the sack of rice, and re-adjusted the tofu container on his shoulder. "This one is very grateful! Come on, this one will show you the way." And with that they set off. 

As they walked, Duo was very quiet. He seemed to be taking in everything around him, and not too interested in his company, giving Kenshin the opportunity to observe the young man. He was short, about Kenshin's own height, and his hair was longer and done into a braid. He moved with a grace and care that suggested he had seen battle, though where and what kind, Kenshin could only guess at. His clothes were slightly strange, but the Red-headed rurouni simply passed it off as another part of the western culture assimilating itself with his own. The Boy was dressed all in black; Black pants, black boots, and a black shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, with a collar that Kenshin seemed to remember seeing some catholic priests wearing. The boy looked like he would have a natural affinity with the blade, and Kenshin guessed that he must have had some weapons experience. 

Soon, they came to the Dojo where Kenshin made his temporary home. 

-- 

As they walked, Duo took in his surroundings, due to some instinct that he hadn't realized he had yet. He also found himself carefully watching his companion. The man looked little older than himself (Something in him told him that he was Seventeen), but held himself as though he had seen more than someone of that age could possibly have seen. (Though Duo knew, subconsciously, that he, held himself the same way) He had startlingly red hair that Duo knew wasn't common in Japan pulled back into a low ponytail at the base of his neck. He was wearing a traditional Kimono and hakama, the pants white, the shirt a purple color that somehow managed to not clash with his hair, though Duo personally thought that the boy/man would look better in something a little darker. (9) 

After the ten minutes that Kenshin had given him, they came upon a large building. 

Duo stared up in awe at the gates that he knew he had seen only recently in a state of disrepair. They read, very clearly, "Kamiya Dojo of Kamiya Kashin Ryu" and there was no sign of the stone marker that Duo seemed to remember there being somewhere around here. For the life of him, though he couldn't remember what it was about. 

"This one is back!" Kenshin called out as they entered the grounds. He was immediately accosted by a young woman with black hair, a tall young man with dark brown hair and a kid with black hair. 

"Where were you Kenshin? We were all worried about you!" The young woman yelled, or rather screeched, at him. 

-- 

"Now, Now, Kaoru, this one was out shopping. See?" He held up the container of tofu, and Duo took his lead and held up the bag of rice. Kenshin smiled. Clever Boy. "And this one met someone who was lost, that he did. This is Duo." 

The braided boy bowed low. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm really sorry to intrude on you all, but I must have fallen or something, because, all I can really remember is my name..." He smiled, a little sadly. "I can cook, a little, and clean and I'm willing to do some odd jobs to make up for having an extra mouth around to feed..." 

Kaoru immediately went into the "Mothering Mode" that all women seemed to have. Kenshin privately marvelled at that. All females, whether they had children of their own or not all felt the need to look after something if it didn't obviously know how to look after itself. He shook his head. Megumi-dono would probably be far worse that Kaoru-dono, though they were both very smothering... 

"Oh, you poor thing! Here, let's go set up a room for you, I'm sure we have an open one, somewhere, after all there's only a few of us around here, anyways...D'you remeber where you're from, or where you're going, at least? No? Alright, then we'd better be prepared for a long stay then! D'you think you'd want to take lessons with Yahiko?" 

"Er...What sort of lessons?" Duo looked, at least to Kenshin, slightly aprehensive of the idea of lessons. 

"Why, in swordsmanship, of course! What else would we teach here?" And she began to prattle on about what sort of swordsmanship they taught here. Something in Kenshin made him say something he never would have said, in any other circumastances. Something just told him that this boy could handle it, and might need in the future 

"This one will teach him, that he will." 

Kaoru went silent at that, and she, as well as Yahiko and Sano, turned to look at him. As if he were mad, as it were. "This one won't teach him the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu, of course, that he will not." _Not yet, anyways..._

-- 

"Uh, is somethin' going on here?" Duo questioned, a little confused. Why would Kenshin's friends think it odd for Kenshin to offer to teach him? The red-head was, after all, a swordsman... 

Kaoru turned to him, a look of dismay still on her face. "Kenshin once told me he would never teach the sowrd to anyone..."(10) 

"So, You're surprised that he would offer to teach me?" 

"Frankly, yes... We don't even know if you've any leaning towards the sword." 

"Acctually, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin cut in, "This one can tell from the way he moves and holds hismelf that he's had at least some practice with weapons. Do you remember anything about that, Duo-san?" The red-head raised an eyebrow. "Even if you don't, this one is sure it'll come back to you if you start practicing, that it will." 

"You know, there's no need to be so formal with me, after all, If I'm going to be your student...But yeah, I think I can remember some training, With the scythe, I think..." He trailed off, trying to remember the exact details. "And..And I think I know how to shoot a gun, too..." He screwed up his eyebrows, trying his damnedest to remember anything he could. "But...I don't remember anything else..."(11) 

Kenshin's eyebrows had shot up at the mention of the Scythe. 

-- 

_This boy...He trained with a scythe as a weapon? That is interesting..._ "So, you will study with this one, then?" 

Duo nodded. "Yeah, It seems like the right thing to do...It's not like I've got anything else that needs doing anyways...So far as I know." The boy's face fell a little at that. Kenshin placed a kindly hand on his arm. 

"Don't worry Duo-kun, this one is sure it will all come back to you soon enough, that it will. Now, do you have any recollection of how old you are?" 

"Seventeen, I think."(12) 

Kenshin nodded. He had so many questions he wanted to ask Duo, but he didn't want to upset the boy any more than he already had. "Well, now seems as good a time as any to have dinner, that it does." 

---- 

(0.5) - DDR - Dance Dance Revolution, an awesome game by Konami. Hard to explain. You press arrows on a mat (by stepping on them) in time to music. DDRing, therefore, is the act of playing DDR.   
(1) - Because I've forgotten what the proper word is. :embarrassed look:   
(2)- Surely you can guess where I mean? The reason I didn't use the name of the place is because I can't remember if it's aKAbeko or aKObeko or if it's something else entirely, and unfortunately they translated the name to Beef-Bowl in the comics, and in the one scene where you can see part of the restaurant sign you can't see the whole word, and there fore I can't even use my Meagre Japanese skills to read it, and the damn thing is half in Kanji. :can only read hiragana and katakana::grumbles:.   
(3) - In this fic, Everyone speaks perfect Japanese, because that is how it is in the manga and anime. So! No Duo who only knows a little Japanese! No Ununderstandingness between everyone! HAH! I defeat you, plot holes! Hahahahaaa:hackcoughgagcoughupblood: oookay... Eyem guudt...:dies::comes back to life: And yes, I made up the word Ununderstandingness. it means that the 'ability' to not understand others is in use. Or something.   
(4\) - This is pure me pulling crap out of my ass. I don't know which direction the Kamiya Dojo is from the town, hell I don't even know what the town's called! Or I do, but I've forgotten... .In any event, all I know is that Kenshin and whoever else are always crossing abridge to get in and out of the town. And I know that there's a city not too far away, otherwise, how would things work out the way they do in the manga and anime?   
(5) - TLC - Tender Loving Care. Or, Totally, Like, Clueless! Or Trademark Lent Carefully. Or any other number of Acronyms. But the first one's the one we're going for here, folks. And I know, I know, All of y'all prolly already know what it means, but there's always the few...   
(6) - I don't know about you, but I always say a little 'Good Luck in your next life' sort of thing every time I see a grave marker that isn't in a cemetery. I don't believe in Heaven or Hell, but I'd like to think there's some sort of reward or retribution after this life, so i believe in Reincarnation. If you're a horrible person, you'll come back as a slug. If you're a good person, you'll come back as a good person. I'd like to think that Picton will spend many many many lifetimes paying for his crimes. (If you have followed the news at all over the past three or four years, you should remember this...If you live in North America.)   
(7) - I remember this from the manga/anime at least! There was one part where Kenshin and Yahiko where bringing home some tofu and Kenshin was carrying it, and had to be extra careful not to spill, and then someone attacked them. I unfortunately don't remember whether Kenshin managed to make in through the fight without spilling any or if Kaoru got mad at him, but I do remember the Tofu was in water so that it wouldn't dry out! x (That face probably didn't show up, did it:x)   
(8) - YAYYY! Language Footnotes! Gomen Nasai is A polite form of saying I'm sorry. Gomen ne is a more in formal sorry, like between friends. :nodnod: I've gotten so into the habit of saying gomen ne, that I almost say it in my language classes, like French and English. No, English is not a second language, it's my first. I just consider English a language course.   
(9) - Personal Opinion of Course. Kenshin really shouldn't wander around in that purple thing, especially with the color of his hair. It just barely manages not to clash. Honestly. :shakes head: Dark Blue or Something of the like would look better on him.   
(X) - Err, I realized that I forgot to put a footnote for this; The Doctor, Ayame and Suzume's Grandfather, I've forgotten his name, so! If you know it, drop me a line. The two volumes of the manga that I have don't mention him, unfortunatley, and this laptop has lost its internet connection - rather, the plug in at the back is broken and I need my sibling to pay for half of it, considering it's her fault anyways. :hufs: She just doesn't understand. :grr: 

(10) - Ken: Acctually, Kaoru-dono, if you'll remember correctly, this one only said that he would never teach the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu to anyone. This one said nothing about the sword in general. Besides, you have your hands full with Yahiko...   
Kaoru: ...Shut up, Kenshin.   
(11) - Yes, I've conviniently made him forget the Gundams. Don't worry, He'll rmember in a bit. First he'll remember his friends, then his enemies, and then the war, and then the gundams. And the--...I'm giving away my plot. I'm shutting up now. :X 

(12) - Yeah, Yeah, in the series they're fifteen or something like that, but I don't care. I can't him to be older, so Nyah.   
_Jow: That, and s/he forgot to check her info before s/he started to write this._   
J::hits Jow over the head: 

---- 

And so I end this fic just in time for everything to be resolved. Sort of. Duo has a place to stay, and a Sensei to teach him swordsmanship. And yes, Eventually Duo will start to learn the hiten-mitsurugi. :grins: I can't wait. Tho', that's gonna be the hardest part for me, after all I know diddly squat about swordsmanship. Or Kendo, or fencing. Absolutley squat. Nothing, zip . Nada. Zero. Zilch. Anyways. :sighs: If anyone knows anything about Swordsmanship and would like to help me out with Kenshin's lessons with Duo and the action sequences later in the story (DOn't worry, I will have a bad guy and everything. Tho'...he'll probably one of the many OCs I use randomly... like Jaimes, or Jow, or January, tho' I'll ahve to change their names), or If you have any idear for the bad guy, give me an e-mail. jaimiyazaki AT yahoo DOT ca 

See y'all around. 

-J 

PS - I Finished this chapter while listening to Monty Python _Sings_ Song 24, "The Galaxy Song". If you like the Pythons and wanna chat, see the above e-mail. :grins and waves goodbye: 


End file.
